David M. Bowman

David Bowman was born in La Porte, Indiana and was raised in southern Florida. He attended Williams College in Massachusetts and received a B.S in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan. He studied jewelry making at night school in Ann Arbor. He is mostly a self-taught metalworker, who learned from books, occasional classes, and lots of practical work.

David worked in metal for twenty-eight years, starting with silver jewelry and working his way up in size through belt buckles, candlesticks, and vases to abstract wall pieces in patinaed brass. His sense of form and composition comes from close and long study of natural forms, architecture from all periods and the study of composition by master painters.

His work with wall pieces particularly reflects his interest in achieving balance in asymmetrical forms. David enjoys the constraints of working with his simple tools and limited palette of patinas. His vases are fabricated from pieces cut from brass sheet, hammered or bent, and then bronzed together.  Some vases are etched to provide a surface texture.  After testing for water-tightness the completed vase is patinaed using durable sculptural patina techniques.  He also produces fountains and other accessories for the home or office.